Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA)

PTCA is performed to open blocked coronary arteries caused by coronary artery disease and to restore blood flow to the heart tissue without open heart surgery. PTCAs are performed in special cardiac procedure suites in the Heart Center at Halifax Health Medical Center. A special catheter is inserted into the coronary artery to be treated, usually through the groin. The catheter has a tiny balloon at its tip which is inflated once the catheter has been placed into the narrowed area of the coronary artery. The inflated balloon compresses the blockage on to the walls of the artery and makes a larger opening inside the artery, enabling improved blood flow.

Percutaneous Transluminal Coronary Angioplasty with Stent

The advancement of the treatment of heart disease has recently enabled physicians to refine the PTCA procedure by introducing the placement of a stent. A stent is a tiny, expandable metal coil that is inserted into the coronary artery after the artery has been opened with PTCA. The stent expands within the newly opened area to help keep the artery from narrowing or closing again. Newer stents are coated with medication to prevent the formation of scar tissue inside the stent. These drug-eluding stents release medication within the blood vessel itself over time. The effect of this medication is to inhibit the narrowing of the newly opened blood vessel. The patient's physician will determine if a stent needs to be used and if that stent should be drug-eluding.